Constantly Stamping

Global Design Project: GDP211 Theme Challenge

The theme for this week's challenge at Global Design Project is Happily Ever After.

I have been wanting to create a card using the Magnolia Blooms Stamp Set (#152729) and this challenge is the perfect opportunity.

This stamp set is designed with the new stamper in mind...althought I may have pushed the envelop a bit when I colored it with Stampin' Blends markers and then fussy cut everything. This set is also the compliment set for the very popular Good Morning Magnolia set. I stamped everything with Memento Jet Black Ink on Whisper White cardstock. Then I used three different marker sets...Petal Pink, Soft Sea Foam, and Light Daffodil Delight. For the background, I stamped the Birch (#149256) background stamp with Crumb Cake ink. I mounted the panel on a Crumb Cake card base and then tied on some Linen Thread. I added some Gold Metallic Pearls, but you could use sequins, rhinestones, or leave the additional embellishments off entirely. I can't help thinking that this the perfect card for a couple having a country wedding.

We would love to have you play along with us this week. Be sure to check out what the other talented designers/players have created for this fun challenge at the Global Design Project Challenge Blog.

I WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR STAMPIN' UP! DEMONSTRATOR

If you are in the United States and need a demonstrator, then you can order your supplies in my online store here.

 

Global Design Project: GDP210 Sketch Challenge

Better late than never seems to be a description of my life lately. I barely have time to stamp these days, but I made time for this week's challenge at Global Design Project.

I took several liberties with this sketch. I ended up dropping the extra background layer. I also opted for a large element (cardinal) instead of the circle in the lower right corner of the top panel.

I love this new Toile Christmas Suite. Cardinals have always been at the top of my list of favorite birds. I was really pleased with how easy it was to color him with my Stampin' Blends markers. I also layered on some watercolor pencils for additional depth to the colored images.

We would love to have you play along with us this week. Be sure to check out what the other talented designers/players have created for this fun challenge at the Global Design Project Challenge Blog.

I WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR STAMPIN' UP! DEMONSTRATOR

If you are in the United States and need a demonstrator, then you can order your supplies in my online store here.

Global Design Project: GDP207 Theme Challenge

The theme for this week's challenge at Global Design Project is Bloom & Grow.

I spent a good part of my weekend pulling together some fall decorations for a big meeting at work. I was inspired by all of the beautiful colors of Autumn. The days are still quite hot here in Nashville and I find myself longing for a bit of cooler weather.

There isn't much stamping going on here...you might even say it is borderline mixed media. There are several steps to making this card, so let's just start from the ground up. I began by rubbing a Memento Jet Black ink pad across Crumb Cake cardstock and then used the Stylish Scroll embossing folder (#150665) from the new Holiday catalog, to dry emboss the background. I sanded away some of the ink from the raised embossing to help bring out the subtle design.

For each bloom I punched four flowers with the Daisy Punch (#143713) from Crushed Curry cardstock. I flicked a Crumb Cake marker from the center outwards on each petal and also sponged Early Espresso ink on each petal. I curled each layer with a bone folder and offset each layer for more depth and dimension. The flower centers are a bit of a challenge. I carefully rolled some linen thread until I had created a "button" and then glued them into place with some liquid glue..a bit tedious but worth it. I added the bows to the center afterward with a dab of glue.

To make the leaves I folded strips of cardstock in half and ran them through a die cutting machine using the Corrugated 3D embossing folder. Each leaf is cut free-hand. Next, I sponged the edges with more Early Espresso ink. I also die cut some Early Espresso twigs using the Frosted Bouquet die set and tucked them throughout. Finally, I used one of the tag dies from the Mini Curvy Keepsakes Box die set to cut a tag and then stamped the sentiment from the To A Wild Rose stamp set.

We would love to have you play along with us this week. Be sure to check out what the other talented designers/players have created for this fun challenge at the Global Design Project Challenge Blog.

I WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR STAMPIN' UP! DEMONSTRATOR

If you are in the United States and need a demonstrator, then you can order your supplies in my online store here.

 

Global Design Project: GDP204 CASE Challenge

I would like to thank everyone who lifted us up in prayer this week following the loss of my father-in-law. I would appreciate your continued prayers and support as I have been sick all week and I begin a new job today. I have been blessed with an amazing opportunity to go back to work full-time, but I know that there is a big life-style adjustment that goes along with it. Please be patient with me as I try to find the right balance between family, church, career, and stamping/blogging. I am confident that I will get there, it just may take a little time to figure it out.

This week at the Global Design Project challenge blog we are CASEing this elegant card by Kerstin Kreis.

In the past we have talked about how I CASE cards, but here is a refresher. Sometimes I focus on one element of a card like the theme, the color scheme, or the layout, but most often I try to look at the card as a whole, like I did here. When I look at Kerstin's card I see a basic card base followed by a layer of designer series paper, a stitched die cut layer that matches the card base, three flowers at the bottom of the panel, and a greeting at the top of the panel. I kept the same basic layout as the CASE card and just switched up the designer series paper and greeting.

I created a card base using Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock for the card base because it coordinates with the base color of the Mosaic Mood Specialty DSP (#149478). I covered the foliage layer with a piece of cardstock vellum to tone it down a bit and then added some Linen Thread before attaching it to the card base. Next, I die cut a layer of Very Vanilla cardstock with the Stitched Rectangles Dies and layered a slightly larger piece of Terracotta Tile cardstock behind to visually ground it. The DSP has a bit of a shine to part of the design, so to mimic that, I stamped the greeting from To A Wild Rose (#149452) in Terracotta Tile ink and then again in VersaMark ink before heat embossing it with clear embossing powder. This is a really easy technique if you use a Stamparatus stamp positioner.

Finally, I fussy cut some roses and leaves from the floral dsp and added them to the bottom of the panel with Dimensionals. A sweet little butterfly adds just the right pop of color to complete the look.

We would love to have you play along with us this week. Be sure to check out what the other talented designers/players have created for this fun challenge at the Global Design Project Challenge Blog.

I WOULD LOVE TO BE YOUR STAMPIN' UP! DEMONSTRATOR
If you are in the United States and need a demonstrator, then you can order your supplies in my online store here.

Have a blessed day!